Mansfield Town 3

Richard Barker 21' 36' Danny Reet 69'

Wrexham 0

 

Saturday 21 October 2006

 

Kick Off @ 15:00



Match Report

Wrexham slumped to their sixth league defeat in seven games with another disappointing showing at Filed Mill.

Wrexham looked comfortable until the first goal went in after 21 minutes but after this, they never looked like getting back into the game, even failing to register a shot on target all afternoon.

Wrexham made two changes from midweek with Darren Ferguson and Lee Roche back in the side at the expense of Matt Crowell and the rather unlucky Mike Williams.

Wrexham started off the brighter and had the first opportunity of the game but Matty Done was unavailable to get on the end of Josh Joshnson’s cross to the far post. This proved to be the only noticeable chance from both sides in a rather quiet opening twenty minutes to the game.

This all changed within a minute when the Wrexham defence was cut open following a simple throw in down the Wrexham left. From this, Hamshaw got the better of Steve Evans and his pass was weighted perfectly for top scorer Richard Barker to run onto and round Ingham before slotting the ball into the empty net.

It should have been two minutes later when Gareth Jellyman found himself clean through on goal after Lee Roche played him onside by failing to move out with his defence. Thankfully for Wrexham, Jellyman failed to get the ball under control and this allowed the Wrexham defence to get back to clear the danger.

Wrexham were now struggling and Hamshaw got the better of Valentine and delivered a right wing cross that cut out the Wrexham defence and Ingham had to palm away with a Mansfield striker firing the high into the Wrexham fans behind that goal.

Mansfield were not to be denied the second and this came after 36 minutes when Richard Barker again on target. This time it was a simple high ball played down the right channel by Sheenan that was not dealt with by Craig Morgan and this allowed Barker to have a route on goal. Barker again rounded Ingham and although the Wrexham keeper got a touch on the ball, Barker made no mistake as he rolled the ball into the net on his left foot.

Wrexham again lost the services of Lee Roche to injury with Mike Williams replacing the right back and this resulted Valentine switching to the opposite flank.

Josh Johnson delivered another good cross to the far post but Done was again out muscled in the challenge with many Wrexham fans left shaking their heads, wondering who was capable of getting the goal required to get Wrexham back in the game.

Wrexham did have a glimmer of hope in first half injury time following a rare attack. Danny Williams picked out Mark Jones free on the edge of the area and a good turn by Jones allowed him to set up Llewellyn but his shot was blocked by the Mansfield defence.

It was no surprise to see Matty Done replaced by Jon Newby at half time but it was a surprise to see Josh Johnson switched to the left flank with Mark Jones playing out on the right for the start of the second half.

The change made no difference to the balance of play with Mansfield continuing to dominate proceedings and the Stags almost made in 3-0 ten minutes after the restart when Richard Barker was allowed a free header from a corner that struck the cross bar and the rebound was headed wide.

In a rare Wrexham attack, Johnson fired over from twenty yards and this proved to be his last action in the game with Matt Crowell replacing him just after the hour mark. This meant another switch in formation for Wrexham who played the remainder of the game 4-4-2 without any recognisable wingers on the pitch!

Wrexham then allowed Hamshaw, who had terrorised them all afternoon from the right wing, to run from inside his own half, beating three players, until he reached the edge of the area, from where he forced Ingham into a flying save that the Wrexham keeper tipped over the bar.

From the resulting corner, Mansfield again struck the woodwork when the ball broke to Baptiste and he was unlucky to see his low shot strike the base of the post courtesy of a crucial touch from Ingham.

A stretcher was then required for Dawson to leave the field following a challenge by Mark Jones on the edge of the Wrexham area. The Wrexham midfielder escaped without a caution but Wrexham did not escape, as Mansfield got a well deserved third from the resulting free kick.

Wrexham’s wall blocked the original shot but when the ball rebounded to Hamshaw, he picked out Hjelde with a superb chip forward and he chested the ball into the patch of Reet who made no mistake from about ten yards out. Wrexham had appealed for offside but it was Danny Williams who played everyone on and the goal put the game beyond any doubt, if it wasn’t already.

This was the cue for some of the 257 travelling Wrexham fans to leave but they would have missed a fine Mark Jones free kick that was curled around the wall with a lot of pace and had Muggleton well beaten but the ball just cleared the crossbar.

A mistake from Craig Morgan allowed substitute Beardsley a clear run on goal in stoppage time but a good save from Ingham prevented further embarrassment for a well beaten Wrexham side.

There were some calls of 'Denis out' towards the end and he responded with an ironic clap towards the Wrexham fans as the players left the pitch at the end, where there was only applause for Michael Ingham who prevented the score line from being a lot, lot, worse.

Match Reaction

Denis Smith: "I'm extremely disappointed and this is not the kind of situation I have been used to in all my years as a manager. We know we have problems and you could see from the fact that I tried three different systems today that I'm willing to change things as we look for an answer. It doesn't help when we defend like we did today! We came into the match with a plan and for 20 minutes it looked like it was working. Then - bang, someone goes and makes a silly mistake, which costs you. For their second goal, you think no, he can't get in there from a boot up field. I've got internationals playing back there, so there is no way they should be scoring in those situations. If we tried that, then surely they would defender better against us than we did. At half time I've told that we can still get back into this and I've altered the system a little bit. Two-nil doesn't mean we are out of it, but when they got the third we were struggling. At the moment we don't look like a side that is going to pull itself back into a match. Chris Llewellyn had that chance just before half time and it might have made a difference if he had scored then. We have to face the fact that we are not good enough at the moment and work on ways to turn the situation around. I personally don't like changing systems too often, but we are in a position where we have to make things happen." [Source: Wrexham FC - click here fore more]

 

Danny Williams: "We're just not good enough at the moment. We are good enough to bounce back, though. We've got to be, but playing like that we won't. We had problems at the back today and it was just a comedy of errors really for all three goals. I've got to hold my hands up and take the blame for the third one, as I didn't squeeze out.  I don't know why I didn't, I just didn't. I know some people thought he was offside, but he wasn't as I played him on. I was trying to anticipate the ball but there are no excuses, it was my fault. [Source: Wrexham FC - click here fore more]

Mansfield Town

Starting XI:

19 Carl Muggleton
02 Johnny Mullins
05 Jon Olay Hjelde
06 Alex Baptiste
20 Alan Sheehan
07 Matthew Hamshaw 85'
04 Jonathon D'Laryea
08 Stephen Dawson 68'
03 Gareth Jelleyman
09 Richard Barker
31 Danny Reet 78'

Subs:

01 Jason White (GK)
12 Jake Buxton
14 Chris Beardsley 78'
15 Giles Coke 68'
16 Nathan Arnold 85'

Stats:

Shots on Goal: 11
Shots on Target: 5
Shots off Target: 6
Possession: 50%
Fouls Conceded: 7
Corners: 11
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Wrexham

Starting XI:

01 Michael Ingham
02 Lee Roche 38'
06 Craig Morgan
05 Steve Evans
03 Ryan Valentine
17 Josh Johnson 63'
08 Danny Williams
07 Mark Jones
10 Darren Ferguson
20 Matty Done 45'
11 Chris Llewellyn

Subs:

12 Matt Crowell 63'
13 Michael Jones (GK)
15 Mike Williams 38'
18 Jon Newby 45'
21 Marc Williams

Stats:

Shots on Goal: 4
Shots on Target: 0
Shots off Target: 4
Possession: 50%
Fouls Conceded: 9
Corners: 3
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Match Notes

Venue Field Mill
Attendance 2,971
Half Time Mansfield Town 2 Wrexham 0
Referee Andy Penn (West Midlands)

Other Match Reports

Wrexham Dragons: Final Whistle Podcast


BBC: Mansfield 3-0 Wrexham


Mansfield Town FC: Stags Forwards see off Wrexham


Stags Net: Mansfield 3 Wrexham 0


TEAMtalk: Dragons undone by Barker brace


Wrexham FC: Mansfield Town 3 Wrexham 0


Wrexham MAD: Mansfield Town 3 Wrexham 0

League 2 Results

Chester 2 Hartlepool 1 (Friday)
Accrington Stanley 1 Walsall 2
Bristol Rovers 0 Macclesfield 0
Bury 2 Boston United 1
Darlington 2 Barnet 0
Grimsby 0 Notts County 2
Lincoln City 7 Rochdale 1
Mansfield 3 Wrexham 0
Milton Keynes Dons 1 Hereford 2
Shrewsbury 1 Swindon 2
Stockport 1 Torquay 0
Wycombe 2 Peterborough 0

League 2 Table

   
PLD
GD
PTS
1 Walsall 15 20 34
2 Lincoln City 15 19 32
3 Swindon 15 11 31
4 Wycombe 15 9 29
5 Notts County 15 6 27
6 Milton Keynes Dons 15 2 26
7 Peterborough 15 -1 24
8 Shrewsbury 14 9 20
9 Accrington Stanley 15 2 20
10 Darlington 15 0 20
11 Chester 15 0 20
12 Hereford 15 -1 20
13 Hartlepool 15 0 19
14 Bristol Rovers 15 -5 19
15 Mansfield 15 -2 18
16 Stockport 15 -4 18
17 Bury 14 -2 17
18 Rochdale 15 -2 17
19 Torquay 15 -4 17
20 Wrexham 13 -10 15
21 Grimsby 15 -12 15
22 Barnet 15 -9 12
23 Boston United 15 -10 12
24 Macclesfield 15 -16 5

Next Game

Bristol Rovers (h), Coca Cola League 2

Saturday 28 October 2006, Kick Off @ 15:00